(Closed) Our Vermont Vendor Reviews

I know the Vermont boards don’t get that much love so I figured I would write some little reviews of the vendors we worked with. I had looked for reviews of the people we chose prior to hiring them and had hoped for something like this. People told me early on in the planning process that picking the right people makes all the difference. I couldn’t agree more. Without further ado…

The Old Lantern(Charlotte, VT): DH and I were looking for two things; a barn-like rustic feel and to stay within our budget. The Old Lantern fit this criteria. It also happened that it was right down the street from his dad’s boat. They also still had availability in the fall (we were engaged in Dec 2011 and hoping to marry in Fall 2012). They also offered discounts for Sat weddings starting the first weekend in Nov. This was a no-brainer for us. They were pretty easy to work with and allowed for whatever outside vendor (with the exception of catering) that you wanted. The communication wasn’t always there but I felt confident everything would go smoothly the day of. It was nice that they were so flexible- a lot of places we looked into were so strict about what you could and couldn’t do. On the day of the wedding everything went smoothly. Lisa can be a little pushy at times but it is only because she has the bride and grooms best interest in mind. The best thing about the Old Lantern is definitely the food. We received so many compliments on how great the food was. This is rare in the wedding world. We also heard a lot of feedback on the overall look and feel of the place- “where did you guys find this place” they asked. To our guests it was really unique and that also made it special. There is a certain homey feel that you get there, especially with all the Christmas lights around the beams that are standard with the space. Overall, I would highly recommend.

Missing Piece Events (Becca Newton): We hired Becca for Day of Coordination. While the Old Lantern came with it’s own coordinator (Lisa), I was bringing in so many DIY details that I felt I really needed someone to give me personal attention early in the planning process. I wanted to be able to entrust my vision with said person and let them take over the day of the wedding. Becca was unbelievable and I would most certainly recommend her to anyone. She is calming and precise. She understood my vision from the get go and shared a similar design aesthic. Over the course of 8 months, I felt like we became friends sharing many ideas back and forth. On the day of the wedding she nailed it. When I handed everything off to her I fully trusted she would handle everything. She brought my vision to life better than I ever imagined.

Weddings, Tents, and Events (Waterbury, VT): Though the Old Lantern came fully equipped with chairs and linens, I really wanted to bring a slightly more elegant feel to the rustic space. We rented floor length linens and chiavari chairs. In my opinion, the chairs made all the difference. I couldn’t imagine the wedding without them. They were very reasonable and since we were having a wedding in the “off-season” they waived all delivery fees for us and worked with our budget. They even coordinated with the venue to drop off Friday night so we could avoid an additional Sat delivery fee.

BakeAria (Sheldon, VT): I loved working with Danielle at BakeAria. I chose her for my Grooms cake- a camoflage cake with a mallard and lots of cattails. This turned out so awesome and was such a surprise for DH. And about 4 weeks before the wedding I decided I wanted to do a variety of pies instead of cake. I saw she posted on FB with pies she baked (it wasn’t something she was offering on her services) and asked if she could bake some pies for our wedding. She was more than happy to oblige and was very reasonably priced (cheaper than farmstand pies). The guests LOVED these pies- they were incredibly delicious and looked amazing.

Floral Artistry (Allison Ellis): Allison was the first vendor we booked after the venue. I spoke with a few different florist but chose Allison because I felt like she understood the “feel” of the wedding we wanted to have. Like Becca, talking to her felt like talking to an old friend. I gave her ideas of things I liked and colors and gave her free reign with the bouquets and sap bucket sprays. OMG they were incredible. I loved my flowers. She was on the higher end of florist I looked at but she was well worth the price.

Wedding DJ VT (Evan LeCompte): Evan was by far the best choice we could have made. Seriously, he was everything we could have hoped for in a DJ and more. I should be clear about what we wanted though. In no way did we want a DJ that would bring props, play games, yell into the mic to get you on the dancefloor, or be cheesy in any way. We wanted someone that played the music we liked, could handle intro’s and announcements and would keep people on the dancefloor. THIS WAS EVAN! He’s so amazing. We had people come up to us during dinner to say how great he was already. And my boss complimented me and said “I have never been to a wedding where everyone was dancing the entire night”. Evan’s gift is that he can play the music that everyone seems to like. This is not an easy task. If you are looking for a DJ like we were, Evan is your man!

Bree LeMay (Shear Envy): Having a destination wedding in Vermont was challenging to find someone to do hair. I actually scheduled a few differnt trials with some of the more prominent salons in Burlington but canceled due to monitary reasons. I had planned to pay for my bridesmaids to get their hair done but just couldn’t bring myself to spend $1000 on it. When I met with Bree I knew instantly she was the right choice. She was Korean (DH is also Korean- I am Irish, Polish mutt) and we connected over what our future children would look like. She is super talented and can do wonders with hair. She didn’t charge a travel fee and came to us at the Old Lantern Inn. She did all my bridesmaids hair (6 plus me) by herself. And they all looked fantastic. The best part is my hair looked awesome at 12pm that night after picture taking and heavy wind and dancing. She was also really nice and funny and social. She felt like a part of the group.

So that’s it. All the people we worked with were incredible and I truly think that it what made our day so amazing. No problems and happy people. I couldn’t ask for more! If you have any questions let me know!